Conference 7.286::home_work

    My first choice is usually Milwaukee (I think I paid $54 for my
    screwgun).  Makita would be second choice.
    
    Contrary to what others have said, drills and those add-ons are
    not a substitute for a good screwgun.  For tight quarter work
    (especially in corners), a drill is too big and when you got the
    extra attachment...
    
    Are these two brands variable speed with reverse like mine?  If
    not, reconsider.  If so, buy whatever.  Just don't forget a magnetic
    tip/bit for the gun.
    

>    My first choice is usually Milwaukee 
>	Makita would be second choice.
    
   I second the Milwaukee, available for a good price of course at Spag's :-)

   If you want cordless portability then consider Makita

    okay, okay, Milwaukee "first choice".  But it's AEG and Makita on
    sale ($69.00).
    
    Yep, both are reversible, variable speed, magnetic bit.
    
    Trendlines in Nashua is easier to get to than Spags; distance and
    time of travel, no state taxes, and they take plastic.
    
    So, am I to assume the consensus is Makita over AEG ??
    
    Dwight

    Like I told you before Dwight, go for the Ryobi.....
    
    
    
    Royce

    I own a Porter Cable 7540HD, which I used for sheetrocking, studding,
    general fastening on a recently completed addition. I was totally
    impressed by its performance as well as its durability. I
    (accidentally) dropped it from 15' onto a cement floor, it survived
    without even a scratch! Try doing that to one of those those plastic 
    screwguns! 
    
    Porter-Cable, expensive but worth it!
  

    Thanks for the suggestions.  Seems Town Paint & Hardware (Marlboro,
    MA) had a sale...
    
    	Ryobi (model # 3800) for $58.95.
    
    Dwight

    Have been using the heck out of my Makita, and it performs just
    grand.  Drywalling is just one of the 3472 uses for a drywall gun,
    by the way!  One suggestion is to get a replacement tip for it when
    you by it, and put the replacement in from the start; the replacements
    are just standard phillips head drivers (short ones), but the guns
    seem to all come with heads one size smaller than that of the drywall
    screws.  Also, don't try to find (as I did) magnetized tips - the
    tips are not magnetized, the chuck is.
    
    For good prices on the whole array of Makita, Ryobi, Porter-Cable,
    Milwaukee, etc, try Worcester Tool Outlet, which carries all types
    of hand/floor/power/younameit tools.  They are just over the Worcester-
    Shrewsbury border (so go to Spags first!).  Take Rt 9 west from
    Shrewsbury, over lake Quinsig, up the hill, and take the 2nd Y's
    left onto Shrewsbury St (Uhaul is on the corner), and the Tool Outlet
    is on your left about 1/2 block away - 20' lettering on the side
    of the old mill is hard to miss.  This is definitely a place to
    check for just about any type of tool is you are  in the area.
    
    -reed
    

   (well Paul I messed up and insted on moving the old note I deleted
    it)
    
    	Does anyone have first hand experience with using a drywall
    jack?  I've seen them used on This Old House, but I'd like some
    hands on advice.  I usually use a cross brace to hold up one end.
    However this time I'd like to use 12' sheetrock sections to eliminate
    butt joints on my soon to be smooth ceiling.
    	12' sheetrock only comes in 1/2" thickness, no 3/8.  I imagine
    they will be quite heavy.  I'm hoping that the $17/day  drywall jack
    will be my saving grace.  My only other option is to use my brace,
    8' 3/8 drywall and work hard getting the butt joints smooth.
    	Calling all drywall jack experts, what can I expect and what
    would you recommend?
    					=Ralph=                                                       
    

    Whoever said  " a dog is a mans' best friend " obviously never used
    a drywall jack. If they had; the saying would be " a drywall jack
    is a mans' best friend " especially when hanging sheetrock alone
    I completed the upstairs rooms of my home using a drywall jack and
    actually ENJOYED the job. I highly recommend using one.
    One of the best $15.00 rental investments I ever made.
    

    
    I want to SECOND what .1 said! Do yourself a big favor use a drywall
    jack. I did the cathederal ceiling of my 20x24 addition virtually
    by myself. The only help I needed was to put the sheets on the jack.
    It will work with 12' sheets. I did it in a half a day. I just
    installed enough screws to hold the sheets up, brought the jack
    back and then installed the rest of the screws. It was a piece of
    cake. I would have paid 50 dollars a day for the jack.
    
    Bob

    	I went to Taylor Rent All yesterday to get a look at the jack
    and make sure it is in working conditions.  I've been burned too
    many times by showing up the day I need it and finding the damn
    thing is broke.  The jack comes in two parts, a tripod section that
    folds up and a 3' x 6' frame.  I'll enter a report on monday.
    
    				=Ralph=
    

    How high up can the jack lift the sheetrocK?
    
    Sounds like just the thing my husband needs to help in the addition
    but the ceiling must be about 15' high.......do they go up this
    high?
    
    Thanks
    
    Kathy

    	The man who thought up the drywall jack should be nominated
    for a Nobel Prize.  Seriously, spend the $18/day and get one of
    these if you are putting up a ceiling.
    	The jack consists of two parts.  The base is an oversized tripod
    with wheels.  It has a telescoping section that is hooked to a hand
    winch.  The other part is a 3' x 5' platform that bolts to the
    telescoping section on which you rest the drywall.  The contraption
    is light enough to be moved and carried by one person, although
    you need a truck or large wagon carry it back from the rental store.
    	My wife and I easily put up 4 12' sections of �" drywall in
    about 3 hours.  The only tough part was lifting the 12' sections
    on top of the platform.  Once it was in place I just cranked the
    hand winch to lift the drywall in place.  The unsupported ends of
    the 12' sections drooped a bit, so I used my T cross help hold thing
    up.  
    	Last year my wife and I put up a ceiling using 3/8" 8' sections
    just using the T cross.  It was not a real pleasant experience. 
    She had trouble holding up her end while I got the screws in.
    This year the jack made the job much easier, even enjoyable if compared
    against last year.
    	Once again it is a clear example of why you should use the right
    tools for the job.
    				=Ralph=

    Bob Derosa are you out there?????
    
    You stated that you used the drywall jack for a cathedral ceiling....
    were did you rent the jack?  We rented on last Saturday, after
    being told by the man at Taylor rental that it would lift the dry
    wall 12 - 14 feet.  Well the jack only went up to ten feet and was
    of no user trying to get the dry wall up to the 12-1/2 foot ceiling.
    I called about five other places in the Framingham area and everyone
    said their jacks would only go to nine feet.
    
    Does anyone know where we can get one that will go up to 12-1/2
    feet?  Thanks..........
    
    Kathy

	This months issue of Fine Homebuilding has an article on how
    to build your own drywall jack for about $40.  I've already sent
    out over a dozen copies and have got in trouble with the mail room.
    Please check your local magazine stand or library for the book.
    					=Ralph=    

We'll be using a drywall jack soon to sheetrock the 9' ceiling in our kitchen.

We're installing several recessed lighting fixtures, which will already be
installed when the rock goes up.  

What is the most efficient process to cut quick, accurately placed holes
in the rock for the recessed lights?  I'm sure somebody must have done this
before.

Thanks

Steve


ps. to moderators:  I have't been able to locate a note dedicated to all the
    special issues associated with sheetrocking ceilings, so I put this here.
    I checked 1111.76 beforehand.

    	I am in the process of finishing a room over my garage and I
    installed 2 recessed lights.  What I did was to cut the sheet rock
    to size then I measured from 1 wall to the center of the light,
    then I measured from the other wall to the center.  I transfered
    those measurements to the sheetrock then I placed the trim ring
    on the sheetrock and drew around the inside of it.  I took a small
    handsaw and cut out the circle.  After nailing and screwing the
    sheetrock in place, I placed the ring in the hole and trimmed it
    to fit, there is no excess waste and it looks great.
    
    	There is one gotcha on the above.  I didn't use regular sheetrock,
    I used blueboard because I wanted the room plastered (not me the
    room) and the first time I measured and MARKED the hole I double
    checked my measurements, however, I forgot that I had to reverse
    the sheet.  I'll tell you, am I glad that I double checked.  Hope
    this helps and have fun installing your ceiling.
    
    
    			Paul

    Most sheetrock installers will use a tool that looks like a small
    router.  It contains a bit that will drill through the rock, then cut
    horizontally through the rock.  The tip is dull for about 1/8" so that
    you can follow the outline of the box.  What you end up with is an
    exact copy of the box or light that is 1/8" larger than the required
    hole.  This difference is easily covered by any trim that the fixture
    has.
    
    Dan

re: << Note 1666.710 by NSSG::FEINSMITH "I'm the NRA" >>>

>   ...a sheetrock jack...for...a 9 foot ceiling. ...
      
      No  cigar, but an alternate suggestion.  Make yourself a couple of
      T's out of 2x4s.  Make the top of the 2 4' and the height equal to
      the  height  of  the  ceiling  joists  or  straping onto which the
      sheetrock is being fastened.  i.e. the T's won't stand straight up
      with  the  sheetrock  in  place -- they'll be "jambed" at a slight
      angle, which will hold them in place.
      
      Not  as  easy  as a "sheetrock jack" but it works.  I've done a 9'
      ceiling this way!  And its cheaper than a jack.  If you have small
      areas  in  which a jack would be difficult to manuever the T's may
      actually be easier.

    I've done it that way before, but when I'm working on the project
    alone, its rather awkard to handle the sheets.
    
    Eric

    ditto...
    i "rocked" an 8ft ceiling by myself using home made "T"..  not easy,
    but possible.  
    
    tony

    As a delayed follow up, I rented a sheetrock jack and did the complete
    ceiling (24 x 24), one person, over the weekend (hung, not taped
    though). Its the ONLY wat to go for a ceiling, or even a wall since the
    unit I had had a tilting head.
    
    Eric

    A good word about Milwaukee service (and some info on a mod to the 6753
    Screw-Shooter).
    
    Had bought one over a year ago to do the basement during last years
    (1989-1990) Xmas-New Year period.  Of course didn't even complete the
    framing!  Got really moving this year and started 'rocking.
    
    Had problems replacing the B&D Scorpion bits - couldn't get them out
    without vice-grips, hammer, etc.
    
    Got fed up and shipped the gun off to the NY (I'm in NJ) Milwaukee
    repair center on Monday of this week with a note explaining the
    problem.  Gun came back today (4 day turnaround!) with a new magnetic
    bit holder.  This one is bronze, rather than chrome, and has a collar
    for changing bits, rather than an internal retaining spring.  No
    charge, even though I was honest in the letter and told them I bought
    it in Dec 89, but didn't use it until Jan 91.
    
    Kudos to Milwaukee for the QUICK turnaround and the extended warranty.
    
    	-Barry-
    

    This has nothing to do with screwguns but I'd like to follow up on .8
    with another vote for the Milwaukee service policy.
    
    I have a Milwaukee circular saw that stopped working. It was over a
    year old and I brought it to a service center. They fixed it. It needed
    new brush holders because a wire had come loose. When I picked it up
    they said the service was free because it was considered a factory
    defect. They told me that Milwaukee doesn't have a specific warranty
    period. If its determined that the fault was a defect they will fix it
    for free whenever it occurs. I think thats a pretty nice way to do
    business.

    This past weekend I rented a sheetrock jack from Taylor Rental in
    Amherst NH.  Charge was $12.41/day.   Ceiling height is 9 foot.  The
    jack could've gone to 10 feet.  A tilt option made loading the 4x8
    sheets easy. 
    
    I've done ceilings before with 2x4 "Ts" and my wife as partner.  We had
    so much fun the last time she refused to even consider the project this
    time around....
    
    As mentioned before, it's the ONLY way to go for a ceiling.  
    
    _Stan